"You put your whole heart into everything you do. You think you don't but I can see it." He smiles beatifically, nauseatingly, the cards clutched between his chubby little fingers.
I look away, refuse to take the bait. I have no interest in this simpering schoolboy. It's the other Yugi that I'm desperate to see.
It's an old-school game today, no holograms, no distractions. I just want to observe how he plays. Forget cards, Yugi's skill is the ultimate prize in Duel Monsters. I would pay anything to find out how he does it.
The first blood goes to me, of course. A few nice combinations and he's lost half his life points, while mine are merely being chipped away. But like me, he can't stand to lose.
The change that comes across Yugi is dramatic. His face loses the puppy fat, gains an arrogance and determination matched only by my own. His whole bearing changes. His clothes fit. His voice steels. He carries himself like a man - no, like a god. Even that hair stops being quite so ridiculous.
Draw one card. The Inexperienced Spy. I grab his wrist, pull it towards me. There's a surprising amount of strength given his scrawny physique. I pluck a card, glance at it sidelong. The kid has Dark Magician in his hand. Big surprise. I toss the card back. How can he keep winning when I know every card in his goddamned deck?
"Tsh." He smiles sidelong, as if to say "big deal", looking at me from guarded eyes. There's a familiar cruel delight this one takes in defeating others. I want to take him down. My victory must be crushing. He must never be my equal. How can this be the same person, gullible, simple, always banging on about his stupid gang?
He draws a card, sets one face down, tributes for the moronic Dark Magician. My Blue-Eyes can take that no problem. He can't attack, no point.
I tap the metal briefcase beside me impatiently. I imagine hurling it at Yugi's head, the precious holo cards slicing on their way down, death by a thousand paper cuts and irreparable brain damage. I want to hurt the one who can take our duels so casually.
He is observing me with the same intensity as I am him. I can feel my blood boiling, as it always does when I face the other Yugi. My concentration is slipping. I shouldn't have attacked without protection from his trap, but I do, out comes Raigeki Break and it's bye-bye Blue-Eyes.
He hits me with the magician. I try to claw it back, but can't keep anything on the field long enough to get the hard-hitters out. It's a slow, painful death and he must be finding humour in the situation because he uses Kuriboh - fucking Kuriboh! - to deal the final blow.
He sits back, smirking, arms folded, legs crossed. Damn straight you'd better adopt a defensive position, I think. I stand, face the wall, try to escape his gaze but my mind is pacing like a caged tiger. I know defeat isn't good enough for him. He has to punish me somehow.
I clench and unclench my fists a few times, breathe. I walk calmly around to the bastard, grab that stupid pendant and yank it back around his throat, pulling the chair backwards towards me. He's no longer smiling, but an ancient fire is burning in his eyes. I don't like the look of it, but momentarily he is wrongfooted and I am in control.
It doesn't last as he kicks the table leg, forcing the chair back the rest of the way, landing with a thump on my foot. Fortunately he weighs about as much as Mokuba, but the pain is too much to shrug off. I hop back and in a moment he has recovered, one arm each side of me, pinning me to the wall. It should be amusing given his height, but his pride seems to gain him a phantom stature.
"You were never content being a guardian, were you, Seto?" He is uncomfortably close, spouting nonsense, and I turn my head. One hand under my chin forces me back to face him. "You always would be king."
I glare at him, saying nothing. I was president of my own corporation by age 16. What has this shrimp ever achieved - driving a couple of people mad? I can imagine they saw insanity a welcome escape from - but no, this isn't Yugi "I-get-kiddie-admission-prices-at-the-cinema" Mutou, this is Dark "I'm-going-to-kick-your-ass-then-make-you-thank-me-for-it" Yugi. I know what he's capable of. He left me hospitalised for months. Is revenge too much to ask for?
The hand holding my chin softens, then drops. I rest one foot against the wall, leaning against it in an attempt to feign nonchalance. You show weakness, you lose. I refuse to meet his eyes.
He holds position for a few seconds, then turns away. "You're a formidable opponent, Seto Kaiba. But you might have been an even greater ally."
I sulk, and he walks away. My butler will show him out. I look up briefly and catch a glimpse of his retreating back, hands in his pockets. No doubt the kid will be whistling a jaunty tune on the way home.